


Despacito

by aypreal



Series: Otayuri: A Playlist [4]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Because., Denial, Fluff, Friendship, M/M, Realizations, Viktor with a K, Viktuuri (mentioned) - Freeform, bro leo will help out, bros who help you realize that you're madly in love with your bf/f, but only for a while, leoji, otayuri - Freeform, this is more on a bro-on-bro convo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-10
Updated: 2017-08-10
Packaged: 2018-12-13 11:26:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11758860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aypreal/pseuds/aypreal
Summary: Leo smirked before looking at him, “I know that look you give to Plisetsky. I would know. I think I look at Guang-Hong like that sometimes, too.”The way he looks at Yuri? How does he look at him anyway?“We’re friends. You and Guang-Hong are together. It’s different.” Otabek explained like it was a no-brainer.Unexpectedly, Leo laughed. “Friends? Man, is that the excuse you tell yourself when you go to sleep at night?”Or the story of how Yuri and Guang-Hong danced to Despacito and how Leo helped Otabek realize that he is madly in love with the Russian Ice Tiger.





	Despacito

**Author's Note:**

> This has been in my drafts folder for a loooong time and I think I should add something light to my series before I post something angsty. LOL. I hope you like it!

Otabek Altin didn’t realise his feelings for Yuri Plisetsky until someone pointed it out for him. 

The two of them managed to keep the friendship steady and unyielding for two years since Barcelona. Like normal long-distance friends, they kept the communication constant via texts, chats, snaps and video conferences. And when they have enough off time, one would board the plane and spend a week off on the other’s home country. Sometimes they go to a different place altogether (that is if Yuri managed to keep his coaches and pseudo parents off his back long enough to sneak to the airport.)

In fact, it was during one of those trips that someone pointed it out. That someone was a fellow skater, Leo de la Iglesia. 

Leo was a close friend of Otabek’s; a bond made when he was doing his training in America. He invited the Kazakh over (and by default Yuri Plisetsky) to spend a week with him and his family to celebrate his parent’s golden anniversary. Otabek knew his parents well enough to get himself an invite to such an intimate celebration. 

Otabek thought bringing Yuri over was not a good idea. For one, the de la Iglesia family was over all, polite and a tad bit too affectionate. They offered him a place in their family when Otabek was missing his. They were kind. They were generous. 

And Yuri can be… Well, Yuri. He was loud, and gets offended easily. He was also hell bent competitive. But they were like an extended family and Yuri had the free time so the timing looked like a good idea at that time. 

But all the worrying was wasted.

Yuri was loved by Leo’s family. 

Yuri let himself cheat on his off season diet and drowned on American-Spanish-Puerto Rican dishes until Otabek had to rub comforting circles on his uncharacteristically round albeit still muscular stomach when they were ushered back to the guest room. He bitched about the amount of training he was going to face for gaining a few pounds but he comforted himself when he thought that both Otabek, Leo and Guang-Hong (who was invited automatically, seeing he was dating Leo) _will be undergoing the same shit_ — Yuri said aloud. Otabek only smiled when Yuri fell asleep under his touch. 

The moment that Otabek was called out of his feelings was during one of the instances that a situation turned into a contest because Yuri was competitive and called dibs on the winner title. 

Leo had this aunt who was a dancer. During Otabek’s earlier attendance of the family’s gathering,  Aunt Ivelisse was the life of the party. She started the dance floor, and sometimes mob dances that brought aching laughter to everyone. Otabek heard that she likes traditional ballroom dancing, Tango and Salsa. 

Yuri was just competitive.  Otabek watched him interact with Aunt Ivelisse  and Guang-Hong in the middle of the dance floor while Leo’s family scattered about. He had a beer on his hand and Yuri was pointing at Leo’s aunt while Guang-Hong tried his best to pacify him. He didn’t know that he was smiling until Leo slipped beside him and called him out. 

“You like the Russian Tiger.” he said. Otabek looked at him, smile slipping off his face.

“What?” 

Leo only shrugged and took a sip from his own beer. “Aunt Ivelisse is trying to convince Yuri that Guang-Hong was a better dancer because he knew Salsa. Of course, your Yuri called her out on it. He also demanded that she teach him the, I quote, ‘ _damned dance_ ’, and he’ll show everyone what the word ‘dancer’ meant.”

Otabek didn’t answer to that and Leo wasn’t expecting him to. 

They both observed Aunt Ivelisse and Guang-Hong show Yuri the basic hip rolls, hand-arm movements and foot work. Otabek knew the basics, Aunt Ivelisse was his mentor on that too. He watched as Yuri take it all in like the sponge that he was and after one Spanish music, he was following them on the vacated dance floor.

Two songs later and the competitive frown on Yuri’s face gave way to a relaxed smile and eventually, a full blown laugh when Aunt Ivelisse tried to lead both himself and Guang-Hong into a three-way dance. Otabek heard her say that it was her attempt on giving both her star students her attention, that she can’t just choose who to dance with so she chose both of them. They looked silly but it worked. 

“That, my friend, is a path no person can turn back from unscathed.” Leo started again. 

This time, Otabek was ready for the inevitable talk of feelings. “What do you mean?”

Leo smirked before looking at him, “I know that look you give to Plisetsky. I would know. I think I look at Guang-Hong like that sometimes, too.”

The way he looks at Yuri? How does he look at him anyway?

“We’re friends. You and Guang-Hong are together. It’s different.” Otabek explained like it was a no-brainer.

Unexpectedly, Leo laughed. “Friends? Man, is that the excuse you tell yourself when you go to sleep at night?”

Frowning, he said, “You lost me.”

“Beks, do you like how Yuri smiles?” Leo asked. 

Otabek shrugged but nodded. Yuri was beautiful by default. Blessed with genes that seemed so noble with his shining blonde hair, fair skin and blue-green eyes; but when he smiles, Otabek always had to take a second to calm down. He always told himself that it was because he rarely sees Yuri smiling so… So real. The type of smile that is free of malice, anger, and naughtiness.

“Are you fond of your talks? You know, since your friends, I’m sure you guys talk about silly things sometimes, do you like that?” 

He nodded at that too. Long distance sucked sometimes. But they make it work. Most of the time, Yuri would bitch about the Katsuki-Nikiforov couple, his own coaches, his rink mates, his own training; but there were days when Yuri was soft, tired, and so willing to be vulnerable with Otabek. Long distance sucked because he can’t offer a hug when Yuri would quietly sob on his pillow, struggling to keep the phone so he could still continue talking to his best friend. 

“Do you feel ecstatic when you two finally meet?”

Of course Otabek would nod. But friends hug whenever they haven’t met each other for a long time, don’t they? They were finally on the same height and he secretly wished that Yuri would stop growing because he liked to look at those blue-green eyes directly. No one had to look up nor down between them whenever they talk. 

“Have you ever wished you could touch, Beks?”  Otabek stopped at that. Touch was such a broad topic to discuss.  “Touch. Hug him whenever you want. Hold his hand without any question. And kiss like you have every right because you know you’re allowed.”

Otabek wanted to hug Yuri every time; when he's home sick for his grandfather, when he’s feeling jumpy like a sugar-rushed kid, when he’s down with his insecurities and anxieties, and when he’s high on winning. 

Otabek wanted to hold Yuri’s hand, always; sway it between them like how Viktor and the other Yuuri do sometimes in order to trigger his Russian Tiger. Pat it in a silent  _‘you good?’_ during their road trips on Otabek’s motorcycle and there was a red light and they would have to stop for awhile (Russian or not, sometimes Yuri does get a little cold during their escapades on the bike). Hold his hand loosely and rub his thumb over the skin of Yuri’s hand during their ‘forced’ dinner dates along other skaters, and hold his hand and just be mesmerised at how different they were and yet fit so nicely. 

Otabek dreamed of kissing Yuri; for comfort during the falls and victories that are inevitable in their sport, for the unsaid words between them because Otabek saw that even though Yuri doesn’t realise it himself — there are words in their subconscious that both of them aren’t ready to acknowledge. For pleasure because anyone who would look at Yuri would want him and Otabek knew that he wasn’t only physically pretty but also generally beautiful, and lastly because he wants to. A kiss would summarise all of the emotions that Otabek could not explain in words.

“Fuck.” He whispered and Leo raised his beer in acknowledgment.

“Yeah,” the American whispered in sympathy, “I said that too when I realized I was in deep shit for Guang-Hong.”

“How did you know?” Otabek asked. He isn’t that obvious to everyone, is he? 

“You guys are pretty obvious to everyone except yourselves.” Leo shrugged, “I think Phichit Chulanont started an online poll for when you guys are going to start dating.”

Otabek didn’t know how to take that in, “Since when?”

“After the Barcelona GPF. Maybe a few months after that, give or take. Sometime after Yuri posted a screenshot of you two during a Skype date night.”

"We don't have a Skype date night." Otabek answered.

"Or do you?" Leo answered with a wiggle on his brows.

_ Oh.  _

“Do you think he knows?” Otabek asked because he can’t help but think if these newly registered feelings over his best friend is requited or not. Romantic feelings, after all, were much harder to accept than friendship.

“Yeah.”

“What?!” Otabek panicked.

Leo glared at him like he just said the silliest thing, “Calm down, Altin. I mean ‘ _yeah’_ like he knows… If he had someone to call him out on it like I did with you… Preferably with a hammer to hit his head with so he could get over the denial… He seems like the person who would do so.”  As much As Otabek would like to deny that, he knew that Yuri would deny anything that would contradict his independent and strong persona.  The surprising thing with this whole revelation though is, “You’re taking this more calmly than I anticipated.” Leo mentioned, “I prepared a whole calming speech and at least a fridge full of beer just in case you need it. I won’t deny that I needed it when I realised this whole thing with Guang-Hong. Oh well, you’re Otabek Altin after all.” Leo shrugged.

He didn’t reply to that. He was known to be one of the most level headed athletes out there — a complete contrast to his best friend (and now, love of his life) who was a raging fireball 90% of the time. But that’s not it though. It’s not only a question of acceptance, it’s more like “I think I suspected it. For a long time.”

“No shit, Altin.” Leo grunted, “You have always treated him differently. You should have figured it out earlier.”

“Differently? Of course, he’s my best friend.”

“Best friend, my ass.”

**Author's Note:**

> Yuri and Guang-Hong are literally in the background while our two cool dudes banter. I imagine Aunt Ivelisse and the two dancers to be dancing to Despacito which I believe means 'Slow.' Hopefully you guys caught my drift. Anyhow, thank you so much for reading! 'Till next time.


End file.
